Carbon footprint study shows scope for beef and sheep efficiency gains

First-year results of a major carbon footprinting study have shown a huge variation in greenhouse gas emissions from beef and sheep farms across the UK.

The average carbon footprint of a kilo of beef was 26.2kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)/kg deadweight, while that of a kilo of lamb was 22.3kg.

See also: 5 ways to improve flock carbon efficiency before winter

However, results ranged from less than 10kg CO2e/kg deadweight, to more than 55kg for both cattle and sheep, in the 354 farms involved in the Programme for the Improvement in Sustainability of Red Meat (Prism) study.

© Tim Scrivener

Beef results

Commenting on the results for beef, Dr Jude Capper of Harper Adams University, said it was not surprising there was such a wide range of results given beef systems are so varied.

“What this also shows is there are so many opportunities to look at those farms at 10kg carbon, and even 15-20kg and ask, for example, how are they different to the farms out at 45-50?

“What gives them that lower footprint? Is it based on lower fertiliser use? Is it based on cow fertility? Is it based on daily liveweight gain?”

Commenting on farms with results at the high end, she added:

“Sometimes, that’s simply because the enterprise has only just started – if you’ve bought in lots of cattle and you haven’t got many through to slaughter yet, you’re going to have a higher carbon footprint.”

Results varied between enterprise type (see “Comparison of beef carbon footprint on Prism farms”), with suckler herds having a higher carbon footprint than finishers.

However, Jude stressed: “This does not mean sucklers are bad: [these farms] have a higher footprint because they’ve got cows on the farm all year round, and that may not be the case for those who classify themselves as a finisher.

“But again, it does show we’ve got opportunities [for every enterprise to do better] because in all those categories there were farms at less than 10 and farms at greater than 55kg [CO2e/kg deadweight].”

Sheep results

Sheep results showed a similar pattern, though with slightly lower averages than those for beef, and with less clear differences between systems.

“Store lambs are lower, at 21.8, but that’s principally because they tended not to have any ewes on the operation so didn’t have to maintain a flock through the year,” said Jude.

“If we do everything we can to make every single animal as productive and efficient as it can be, it should have a lower carbon footprint and come at a lower economic cost of production.” 

Routes to improvement

As well as gaining a better understanding of the UK beef and sheep industry’s carbon footprint, the aim of Prism was to determine the KPIs each participating farm should focus on to improve it.

Data such as age at first calving, daily liveweight gain and lambing percentage were collected and used to produce individual recommendations (see “Top five recommendations to improve carbon footprint on Prism farms”).

“For each farm, we said, based on your individual challenges and limitations, and looking at your data, these look like the things you should do on your farm,” explained Jude.

“In total, we had about 35 recommendations.

“The number one was to improve pasture [by] doing everything to make sure you’ve got really good grass, because that grass is the foundation of your cattle performance and your soil health.”

Next steps

Data collected in the study will continue to be analysed and information disseminated to the participating farmers.

A second round of carbon assessments is about to start, as is work with about 50 farmers on areas including biodiversity, soil health and water quality.